• Reminder: Strand Reading TONIGHT at 7 PM

    Just a reminder that I’m reading tonight, October 10th, on the 2nd floor of The Strand. I’ll be sharing a stage with Susan Shapiro, Grace Schulman, and Christine Kenneally. Please come on out, should be a fun time for all.

  • Ssam Bar Brussels Sprouts

    Ssam Bar Brussels Sprouts

    “This is a coup,” said Craig, eagerly chewing a caramelized, spicy, salty, and sweet Brussels Sprout. “This could get kids eating Brussels sprouts all over the country.” The recipe comes from superstar chef David Chang and it’s a knock-out. It’s a knock-out at his restaurant and it’s a knock-out at home. The components marry in…

  • How To Make Your Food Blog Popular

    I received a touching e-mail this weekend from a reader who finds herself in the same situation I was in three and a half years ago: namely, she’s a third year law student, she hates the law, and she wants to be a writer. She’s just started a food blog and wants to know how…

  • Book Giveaway

    Hey–the good people at Serious Eats are giving away five copies of my book this weekend. Just click here and share your worst culinary disaster to win. Good luck!

  • A Cookie Trick

    A Cookie Trick

    As much as I miss Diana for her winning personality, I mostly miss her for her cookie sheets. It was with her cookie sheets that we first made the greatest cookies of our lives–you can read the recipe here. Meg of Megnut rejected these cookies when she tried them and called them “too thin,” but…

  • Asian Penicillin

    I have a stripper cold. I caught the cold from a friend who caught it from her boyfriend who caught it from a stripper. In addition to the night sweats and post-nasal drip, the pole-dancing is exhausting and if Annie Lennox’s “Little Bird” plays one more time I’m going to scream. At least the tips…

  • Reading at The Strand

    A heads up for those who missed my Brooklyn reading (which ended up being a really fun event); I’ll be reading this upcoming Wednesday at The Strand along with Susan Shapiro (reading from her new book “Only As Good As Your Word: Writing Lessons From My Favorite Literary Gurus”) and Christine Kenneally (reading from her…

  • AGTV: Latte Art

    I am proud to announce a new ambitious venture here at The Amateur Gourmet: maybe I’m crazy, maybe I’m naive, but I am making a pact–signed in blood–to produce for you, my loving audience, a weekly video to be released each Wednesday for what will become our very own Amateur Gourmet food channel–AGTV. Our first…

  • A Killer Breakfast

    A Killer Breakfast

    There is no greater triumph for a home cook than to make something spectacular out of food you already have on hand. Case in point: the dish you see above, Chorizo scrambled eggs and fried fingerling potatoes–assembled, with no premeditation, in a matter of minutes. How did I do it? Easy. I took Chorizo that…

  • Virtual Book Tour Wrap-Up

    I can’t tell you how grateful I am to the various bloggers who hosted me during the month of September for my Virtual Book Tour. Now that it’s officially over, I thought I’d do one big post with all the links in case you missed any. Thanks again to all of my hosts: it was…